Photographing the Part of Buddhism That Can’t Be Seen

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When David Butow decided to spend 2012 traveling the world to photograph Buddhism, he knew there would be a rich abundance of visual material: colorful clothing, vibrant decorations and precisely choreographed rituals.

But the challenge of capturing the essence of spiritual experience became apparent to him quickly. While sacred rites are visually lush, and obvious, spiritual experience is interior and hidden â€" and it is difficult to photograph something that is not visible.

Mr. Butow used a variety of strategies â€" and camera formats â€" to try to capture the heart of Buddhism. He layered reflections, employed camera motion and made metaphoric images that suggested stillness. He included double exposures, used diptychs and even physically altered negatives with a small blade.

His journey last year, as he worked on “Seeing Buddha: A Photographic Journey,” spanned 10 countries including Bhutan, Cambodia, Japan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and the Tibetan exile community in Dharamsala, India. Along the way, he discovered that Buddhism and photography have much in common, including observation, empathy and being fully in the moment.

David Butow A monk performed “walking meditation” in a forest in Sri Lanka where he lives with other monks. There is a tradition of monks spending years in the forest away from material goods and other distractions that could disrupt their quest for spiritual enlightenment.

“Among the core concepts of Buddhism is the idea of understanding your individual experience of living and the way that you are connected to other people,” he said. “As a photographer, you observe your subject, try to become connected and then capture that in a single moment.”

Mr. Butow started the project after many years as a photojournalist who often covered conflicts and disasters for U.S. News and World Report, as well as for the photo agencies Saba and Redux. He said that empathy in the face of suffering and a sense of shared humanity were important both in photography and in Buddhism.

So, too, is patience.

He recalled photographing a small group of monks for two or three hours while they were chanting, but not moving at all. Finally, there was one moment in which light came through the window and illuminated a monk (Slide 2). Mr. Butow can’t know exactly what the monk was thinking or experiencing, but the image reflects what the photographer perceived.

“Perhaps that’s all I could do,” he said. “The pictures are as much a reflection of my own experience as they are of the people who are in the shot.”

David Butow Schoolgirls sipped ceremonial tea in Kyoto, Japan.

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